


Sympathy For The Devil

by fancy_that



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Adult Content, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Bill Denbrough, Blood Kink, Bottom Bill Denbrough, Character Death, Crying, Dark Magic, Demons, Dominant Pennywise (IT), Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Epic Friendship, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Gay Sex, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light BDSM, Little Brothers, Long-Term Relationship(s), Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Mike Hanlon is a Good Friend, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Minor Character Death, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Obsessive Behavior, Oral Sex, Other, Pennywise (IT) in Love, Play Fighting, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Pennywise (IT), Protective Older Brothers, Psychological Torture, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Rough Sex, Sassy Stanley Uris, Scary Clowns, Somnophilia, Teenage Losers Club (IT), Underage Sex, Vanilla, Voice Kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21526645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fancy_that/pseuds/fancy_that
Summary: Bill Denbrough loves.What he loves isn't normal. It defies all laws of what is right and wrong.When what he loves wakes up earlier than usual the summer changes for Bill.And everything that he ever thought he knew goes out the window."Would you really do that for me?""Of course i would. Anything for you."Being courted by a clown who feasts on the fear and flesh of children is exciting but it also has it's drawbacks. Especially when that clown will do whatever it can to keep Bill at it's side.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough & Georgie Denbrough, Bill Denbrough/Pennywise, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Henry Bowers & Victor Criss & Patrick Hockstetter & Reginald "Belch" Huggins, The Losers Club & Pennywise (IT)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 404





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> This came to me in the memory of a memory
> 
> (What if Bill and Pennywise had some kind of established relationship and understanding of each other? What if they were in love?)

Bill Denbrough ran.

He didn't necessarily know where he was running to but he was running none the less. Kicking up weeds and dust in the abandoned car lot as he weaved between the broken down vehicles heading turning with his strides to see how far ahead he was of Bowers and his gang.

He hadn't done anything. You didn't have to do anything to get picked on in Derry. He'd been walking out of the ice cream parlor with Richie and Eddie. He didn't want to third wheel their little date so as they had gone ahead to the movies he had headed home. Until he turned the corner and ran in to Henry Bowers, Belch Huggins, Victor Criss, and Patrick Hockstetter.

And now here Bill was running for his life.

Because if they caught him they'd do worse then what they'd done to Ben on the bridge. He'd be like the animal corpses Patrick liked to keep in that old abandoned fridge. And to Bill that thought was terrifying.

"You're a dead man Denbrough!" Patrick shouted the knife clenched in his right fist glinting in the sun causing Bill's blood to run cold. If they caught him they'd kill him.

But if he could make it through. If he could somehow stay ahead and make it over that fence then he could take a right and head straight for home. Or at least seek refuge in one of his friends houses if he couldn't make it that far. His legs were burning and his lungs screamed for Bill to stop and catch his breath. but he couldn't. If he did then he'd never get away. Bill's fight or flight instinct was in full swing and fear surged through his veins. The only thing keeping his feet moving.

Bill wondered how long he'd have to do this. How long he'd have to high tail it around every corner. Keep his head low when he was in public alone. How long he'd have to wonder if he'd make it home from school in one peace.

In his heart he knew how long he'd have to wait till he was completely safe again and that thought was terrifying. 

"BILL!" 

He froze in his tracks head turning mouth agape to see his brother Georgie clinging to the fence at the end of the lot. He was fresh from a friend's house. No doubt alerted to his location by curiosity as to why people were screaming. His chin barely cleared the fence.

A new fear consumed Bill.

"Georgie get out of here!" Bill started running again waving his arm wildly. He knew what the Bower's gang was like and they wouldn't take Georgie's age into account. They'd fuck him up with that knife to. Georgie who still cried if he dropped a piece of candy on the sidewalk and still thought that blue was only a boys color.

"BILL!" George bounced on his feet. Probably not understanding the danger they were now both in.

"Go home!"

Georgie's attention now averted to the gang of boys chasing his big brother and the severity of the situation hit him. Bill could see the wheels turning in his head as he recognized them as the "bad people" that Bill had told him about. The reason why he was not allowed to walk out by himself. Which also meant that the friend's parent that had been watching him hadn't escorted him. The little boy promptly turned around and took off his skinny legs pumping a mile a minute. But he was not headed home he was headed towards the Barracks in the opposite direction.

"Georgie no not that way!" He jumped tripped over a tire and went flying his face hit the dirt his hands immediately scrabbled in the dirt searching for purchase. The sewer was the worst option. Down there no one could hear them and it would take weeks before anyone would find their bodies. He was on his knees when he felt something slice his arm.

He screamed as the blade of Henry Bowers knife cut a thin line on his arm the blood already trickling. He touched it tenderly and his fingers came away bloody. Before Bower's could slice him again he kicked him in the shin distracting him as he clutched his leg and fell to one knee cursing and Bill rose to his feet gripping his injured arm and taking off again.

Georgie was already out of sight as Bill jumped the low fence and he hoped that he hadn't witnessed him getting stabbed. But he also knew that his brother hadn't gone home so with a disgruntled sigh he headed towards the shallow lake that was connected to the sewers. His thoughts strayed to last summer when him and his band of Loser's had ventured down here looking for answers to the mysterious disappearances of the children of Derry. And the very reason for that was somewhere down there. With Georgie. And it would be hungry if woken up.

He could hear the footsteps of the Bower's gang several steps back probably waiting for their fearless leader which bought him a few minutes. As he splashed into the water.

"Georgie?" He called softly. Praying that he was just inside the entrance to the pipe. When he received no answer he called louder. "GEORGIE!"

"I think he went in there!" Patrick's voice startled Bill who turned and without a second thought he waded into the tunnel. 

"D...dang it G...Georgie." He mumbled as he marched through the gray water squinting through the blackness. For once he was glad his friends weren't with him. Eddie would yell his ear off about the possible diseases Bill could get by being in the sewer with an open wound.

"Georgie?" He was at the end of the tunnel and he called out loudly cupping his mouth in his hands. 

"C...Come on Georg...Georgie!" He listened intently.

"I know you're in there Bil! I'll kill you when i find you!" The thundering sound of footsteps sounded all around Bill.

With a hammering heart Bill ventured deeper into the labyrinth taking the left tunnel. He didn't know if Georgie had had gone this way but all of the tunnels ended in the same place. The wall he touched was cold and wet as he ran his hand along it trying to keep his bearings. He wanted to call out to Georgie again but he also didn't want to send out an alert to his location. He didn't want to die here in the sewers and possibly leave Georgie to get lost or meet a similar fate. If he could find him they'd be okay.

The footsteps seemed to echo all around him and Bill couldn't tell where exactly they were coming from. He just had to keep a clear head and keep walking once he found Georgie then he'd formulate a plan to get them out of here. 

"Georgie?" He whisper shouted coming to the end of the tunnel. "Georgie are you here." WHy did he have to crawl so far inside?

"Hello Denbrough." Bill spun around as Belch Huggins walked into view. "Looks like we got ourselves a mouse in a cat trap." He sniggered. "Guys i found him!" He called down one of the tunnels. When he turned around Bill was gone.

"HEY!" He heard there voices and footsteps as he thundered down the tunnel he was in.

"GEORGIE!" He screamed desperately almost falling into the water. "G..Georgie w..where are y...y..you!?" His heart was pounding in his ears and his legs were sluggish as he forced himself through the water. He had to find Georgie and find him now.

Their footsteps were getting louder and Bill sent up a prayer to whatever God was listening that Georgie would be safe. He tumbled into the wide opening where all of the tunnels met. The large room was flanked by a moat of murky water. In the center was a concrete floor piled high with the belongings of children.

Bill spotted baseball bats, dolls, dresses, action figures, boots, and hats and all sorts of other odds and ends. And the worst part was Bill knew how they got there, And that's what frightened him about Georgie being down here. Because Georgie had already been through that once before. So why Georgie would come down here again was a mystery to BIll.

"Georgie?'' He called softly. He couldn't hear the Bower's gang anymore which concerned him but what was concerning him more was his brother. Maybe they had gotten lost or gotten bored of the chase and gone home.

"Georgie?" He called louder.

His heart hammered inside of his chest at a possibility that he wasn't ready to consider. A possibility that he thought he would never have to think of again but here he was in the sewer with his brother who was currently missing and the thought was currently running through his head.

No. Please God no. I'll do anything he begged inwardly. That was worse than getting caught by Bowers and his gang. Worse than any other fate that Bill could possibly imagine. Worse for both sides of his heart.

He opened his mouth and took the biggest gulp of air he could muster. He was going to find his brother or die trying. Which seemed more like a possibility.

"GEORGIE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs his voice reverberating around the room. He heard the stampede of feet at the same time he heard Georgie's voice call out.

"Bill!"

Two emotions blew through him at the same time. One was relief that his brother was alright. That he hadn't been harmed while wandering down here. That he was safe. The next was fear. Fear as the Bower's gang ran into view their expressions murderous.

"W''where you headed B...B...Billy?" Henry mocked and the rest of his group laughed obnoxiously like a pack of hyenas.

"Bill?" Georgie's voice was soft and scared as he hid behind Bill's lanky frame. 2 years ago standing in the sewer Bill wouldn't have been afraid. He would have laughed in Henry Bower's stupid face. Because 2 years ago Bill would've had back up. 2 years ago Bill and Georgie would've been protected.  
But today was not a day for Bill. And that was 2 years ago.

"Tell me something Hockstetter." Henry said as he slowly approached the boys polishing the blade of his knife on his sleeve." With every step that Henry took forward Bill and Georgie stepped back.

"What's that Henry?" Patrick spit out his cigarette and ground it into the water. Like him all of Bower's friends were vulgar, crass, unkind, murderous, vandals.

"How long does it take for someone to bleed out from a knife wound?" He waved his knife in the direction of both brothers.

Patrick grinned his yellow teeth a stark contrast to his skin. "Depends on where ya stab em i guess."

Victor and Belch sniggered.

"C..Come on g...guys l..llet my br...brother g..go." Bill pleaded. "He...He's just a k...kid."

"Oh no Billy boy." Bowers pointed at him with his knife. "Your little kid brother is gonna watch me pick at your little ass and then when we're done with you it's little Georgie's turn. Both Denbrough brothers laid to rest in the same place."

"He's gonna kill us Billy?" Georgie asked fearfully. His breath was coming in short ragged breath.

"No." Bill whispered.

"Yes." Patrick sneered.

The older boys approached their prey who stumbled backwards Georgie gripping Bill's hand. Bill glared at the boys in front of him. A phrase bubbled up in his conscious. A phrase he hadn't said in 2 years and a phrase he didn't think he'd ever have to say again. Or so soon anyway. And part of him hesitated to say it. Hesitated to speak the words that could save his and Georgie's lives but could also hold unforseen consequences if Bill wasn't careful.

But when Bill glanced down at his brother who was pressing his face against Bill's back and crying all doubt left him and he stood taller and more determined.

"H....He th...thrusts h...h...his f...f...fists ag..again...against the p...posts." Bill stammered fearfully sloshing back into the filthy water. "A..a..and s...still in...insists he....he....he see..sees the g...ghosts."

"What are you saying Billy?" Georgie asked.

"Stop mumbling Denbrough!" Victor taunted. "Talk like a man!"

He didn't answer say anything wondering if this would even work. If his words would even be heard and his wish answered.

"He....He thr..thrusts hi..his f...f..fists." His voice was cut off when his back hit the concrete wall. He glance up wishing for a miracle and raising his voice.  
"Ag..against th..the p...po..posts!'

"Shut the hell up Denbrough!"

Bill was screaming now.

"An...and s..st...still in...insists he...he....he s...sees the g..g...ghosts!"

3 things happened at once. The pipe above Bill's head broke and a gush of water shot out. Henry Bower's knife slashed through the air and Georgie screamed.   
Bill shielded his brother as Henry and his gang were knocked off their feet by the pressure being tossed in to the gray water a few feet behind them.

Bill turned around and shoved Georgie up the wall. 

"Climb." He whispered authoritatively as Georgie gripped the pipe. He hoisted himself up into the pipe opening with Bill behind. Bill flopped on his stomach exhausted as he watched the confusion unfold below.

"Are we safe Billy?" Georgie whispered.

Bill didn't answer his eyes scanning the room scanning the darkness until he saw it. A pipe against the back wall. A hole in the ground and the lid to it was slightly ajar.

"Yes Georgie we're safe." He muttered.

"I'm gonna KILL you Bill!" Bower's raised his knife threateningly water dripping off of him. He coughed and spluttered his eyes on BIll before the tower of objects to their right began to tumble pelting them with the belongings of the dead children of Derry. 

"Ah fuck get away!" Patrick waved his arms through the air stumbling back in the water as a jack in the box bounced off his head. "No leave me alone!'; He landed in the water again coughing and sputtering his limbs flailing wildly.

"Fucking Christ Hockstetter!" Belch kicked at him in the water sending a Barbie doll flying as he tried to pull Patrick to his feet.

"Come down here you fucking wuss!" Henry stepped out of the water. "Come on i'll cut you down to size."

"Holy shit Patrick!" Victor screamed scrambling backwards and heading for the opening of the tunnel they had come through. He tripped and his hands scraped the concrete.

Bill looked more closely trying to pick the teen out from the chaos and finally spotted him sitting in a pool of now scarlet water clutching his arm. Or where his arm used to be. Belch was pulling him to his feet and screaming.

"Bower's come on leave em will deal with it later!" He was screaming at Henry who was still swinging his knife. Patrick leaned heavily on Belch the sound of Patrick's ear splitting screeching making it impossible to think.

The teen paused and locked eyes with Bill safe with Georgie in their pipe. He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. The slit finger across his throat told him everything he needed to know before the teens were helping Hockstetter through the opening of the tunnel they had come from.

Bill waited a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear before he climbed down.   
Once he was on the ground he leaned heavily against the wall coughing and gasping trying to catch his breath. His cut arm had gone numb and his hands stung from where he had scraped them.

"C...Careful." He warned as Georgie started to descend. "It's s...s...slippery." 

Once they were both on the ground Bill could breath more evenly.   
"You ok?" He asked Georgie who was gripping tightly to his hand.

"I scraped my knee." He sniffled wiping his nose on his sleeve.

Bill fell to his knees to inspect the wound. "It doesn't look to bad." He said. "We can fix you up when we get home." He went to work inspecting him for any other injuries. Finding none he hugged his brother tightly.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He whispered.

"Bill?" Now a new voice was calling but this one didn't make his heart race.

"It's Stan!" Georgie said with ecstasy pulling away from his brother.

"Bill you stupid shit where the hell are you it smells worse than one of Eddie's mom's bras down here!" Richie protested from somewhere in the tunnel.

"How would you even know that!?"

Bill tuned out their squabbling and smiled. "Go a..ahead and ttttell them we're o...ok." Georgie nodded and raced off. When he was out of the room Bill surveyed the carnage around him. The water was still a scary red color and the previous mountain was scattered everywhere. Bill picked his way carefully through the rubble with the paranoid feeling that he was being watched.

"Hello?" He called out hesitantly just in case he was wrong.  
"I know you're there. No use hiding." He spun in a slow circle searching for any signs of life.

No answer.

"I'm sorry i woke you up." He tried again. "But thank you for defending us. And for not eating Georgie." He stayed motionless for another minute but nothing happened. He didn't know what he was waiting for exactly but surely not total silence.

"Bill come on crab ass!" Richie yelled.

"Ok ok!" Bill sighed as he approached the mouth of the tunnel. He looked back once more before he climbed in giving the entity one last chnace and there in the shadow of the room he saw it. Peeking out from the open hole in the ground a pair of ghostly blue eyes stared back at him unblinking and expressionless. Bill's heart stopped. 

He smiled and lifted his hand in a small wave. Nothing changed but Bill didn't need anything more. Suddenly the eyes closed again and he hoisted himself into the pipe. 

It was awake. It knew he was here. It remembered. He smiled.

"Bill let's go i want pb and j!" Georgie protested.

He smiled and shook his head. "Coming!"

Bill Denbrough ran.


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill heads out with his friends and later runs into an old friend who sparks some memories
> 
> I'm also sorry about the confusion this chapter got mixed up and some of it was deleted but I got it back in order and this is the real chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's your Pennywise chapter. Next one gets even.....steamier

The bike ride home was long. Longer then Bill would have liked. Georgie seated a top stands handlebars talked nonstop the entire way. Eddie who gave Bill his bike and was perched on Richie's scolded Bill the entire way for not being smart enough to get an escort home and for splashing around in the sewer and his condition.

" I mean you could have gotten HIV or a staph infection maybe even tetanus I mean who's to say how clean Bowers is knife is you have AIDS of God you most definitely have AIDS!"

"Ed's." Richie rolled his eyes as they turned down Bill's street. "If anyone has AIDS it's you."

Eddies face turned a bright red and he turned around to scowl at his boyfriend. "That is so not funny and you know it."

"Guys if we wanted to know about your freaky sex adventure we'd ask." Stan sighed.

"Guys we have a kid here!" Ben interjected. Georgie who is kicking his legs was oblivious to the conversation ignored them.  
" Jeez don't be a prude Ben." Beverly smirked. "Georgie's a big kid now he faced down the Bowers gang and that stupid clown."

"Does that make him a loser now?" Mike asked as they skid to a stop in front of Bill's house.

"Please." Stan rolled his eyes as he helped Georgie off his bike "Georgie's too cool for that."

Bill hopped off Eddie's bike and hurried inside after Georgie "Be right back!" He called over his shoulder.

"Mom we're home!" Georgie kicked off his sneakers and bolted into the living room his mother was stretched out on the couch watching a movie. Bill ambled in to the kitchen to find his father cooking.

"Want some lunch Bill?" He asked Got a BLT with your name on it."

"S....save it for m...... me?" He asked grabbing a water bottle. "I want.. wanted to go out ri ri riding with the guys for a bi... bit."

"Sure sure." His father waved him off. "You know the drill be home by 10."

"Yeah thanks Dad." He finished his water and ran into the living room to tell his mother goodbye. He smiled at the image of his brother safe and sound at home with his parents. Hopefully he wouldn't blab about what had happened to them. Then his parents would never let him go out again.

One alcohol rubbing and roll of gauze later he was ready.

A few minutes later his garage door opened and he rode out.

"Took you long enough!" Richie protested. "Could you have gone any slower?" Ignoring him Bill took off down the road his friends behind him. The wind in his hair help clear his head and he couldn't help but whoop with happiness at his near brush with death and surviving it.

His friends joined in his cries ringing bike bells and yelling. Their shouts of ecstasy and youth echoed across the buildings and down streets as they triumphantly rode down the street heads held high. For a few minutes Bill forgot his troubles and his new discovery that it was awake and might be looking for him. All that mattered was him and his friends. It was summer vacation and he was ready to have fun.

"Where we headed?" Beverly asked as she pulled up beside him laughing.

"Let's go down to the yogurt joint." Stan suggested.

"Nah the arcade!" Richie said.

"You spend every weekend there trash mouth let's go to the movies." Eddie argued.

As they passed a lamp post Bill stopped, a paper fluttering in the wind catching his attention. He reached out a hand to smooth it out and read it better while his friends bickered.

"Are you kidding me all they're playing is romantic comedies I say we go to the bowling alley."

Their arguing was background noise to Bill who was busy reading the Missing poster in front of him. His blood ran cold. It couldn't be. It was impossible. This couldn't be happening. Not yet. Not now. It couldn't be true.

"There's a bunch of 6th graders over there let's go to the Waffle House."

"Guys." Bill murmured tearing the poster off.

"What about ice cream?"

"Me and Eddie were just there."

"G..Guys!" He said a bit louder. Everyone turned to look at Bill who held up the poster with a shaking fist.

"Who in the hell is Bernice Williams?" Richie asked squinting at the piece of paper.

"She's mmmmmissing." Bill stuttered.

"For how long?" Bill quickly took the paper from him scanning it.

"Since today."

"How is that even possible?" Stan asked. "They don't make posters that fast. If she went missing today they'd still be looking for her."

Bill was afraid to tell them that he knew why the poster was up so soon. He knew who had put it there and what it meant. And that thing that put it there knew he would find it.

"Maybe someone's just playing a prank?" Mike suggested.

No one wanted to say what everyone was thinking. The thought nagging in the back of their heads. It wasn't possible of course. It had only been 2 years. They shouldn't be worrying about this for another 25.

"You don't think-?" Eddie started to say. But everyone gave him such a look that be closed his mouth. "Never mind."

Beverly handed the paper back to Bill who crumpled it in his fist. This was his fault he knew. His fault deep deep down. It was him who had woken it up early. Disturbed it's sleep and made it hungry. He wondered how it had happened. What form had it taken to lure her away? What lie had it told her to make her put her guard down and approach it? He wondered what it had taken from her. What trophy of hers it had added to it's collection.

Without another glance he shoved the paper into his pocket. "I'm all ffffor the w...waffle House." He mumbled righting himself on his bike.

There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the group.

"Jeez you all look like someone died or something come on we're you to get waffles!" Richie joked.

Everyone glared at him.

"Tough crowd." Richie mumbled.

The rest of the ride was spent in a silence tinged with fear. There was no doubt that the losers would rise to the occasion again to defend the children of Derry if needed. But nobody knew what Bill knew. The official truce he had a brokered with the creature that lived in the sewers beneath the town. Pennywise wouldn't harm Bill's family or friends or his friends family. Bill protected of small circle of people in Derry but he couldn't protect everyone. After all. 

A clown had to eat.

The Waffle House was a favorite hang out spot for a variety of people. Families ate there after church on Sunday. Teens were here at all hours of the day. Elderly couples ate there late into the night.

When the losers marched in to the building the only people inside was a bus boy a few waitresses and a family of four. Richie grabbed Eddie's hand and shot straight towards the booth in the back corner. The only table large enough to fit all 7 of them. They settled in and grabbed the menus.

Bill tried to lose himself in the promise of batter smothered in syrup and whipped cream to diminish the thoughts and his head. He was being watched again.

"Welcome to the Waffle House what can I get you?" The middle aged waitress stood pen at the ready as the teens voiced their orders. Bill who had been staring at the napkin on the table in front of him was slow to answer.

"Star Command to Bill. Come in Bill." Beverly tossed a straw at him.

"When he lookes up everyone was staring at him. He grinned in apology. "5 Star slider please." He slid his menu over to the waitress and twisted the napkin in his hands.

"Hey if you're torn up about the Bernice girl you shouldn't be." Ben comforted him. "I know how hard it was for you to get over the Pennywise incident but its only been 2 years. It couldn't have done it because it's still asleep."

Bill smiled wanting to believe his friend and his kind words. But he had seen it. Had seen its bright eyes the had regarded him with a maw tinged with hunger and he hadn't laid a claim to Bernice. Not that he would have. If things had gone the way they were supposed to she would've been off the college somewhere far away by the time it woke up again.

"Thanks Ben."

"It was taunting him with that image of her. It enjoyed certain parts of tormenting Bill. It knew Bill couldn't get mad at it because he hadn't protected her. That had been the deal and now it was haunting Bill with the truth that what it had done had not broken it's promise to Bill.

"Bill have you been listening to a single word I've been saying!" Richie snapped from across the table.

"It's not his fault your stories aren't interesting." Stan mumbled from across the table never taking his eyes off the desert menu in front of him.

"Shut up you Jew!" Richie crossed his arms and pouted. "My dick is bigger than your fucking IQ!"

"Can Eddie confirm that?" Bev asked smirking at the boy who now seemed very interested in his coke.

Richie turned to his boyfriend expecting a confirmation.

"Oh look the foods here!" Mike exclaimed saving him the embarrassment as plates were passed around. All previous conversations were lost in the clatter of silverware and the chewing of delicious hot cakes.

The 7 friends discussed their plans for the summer. Mike's upcoming drivers test, and the party being hosted at the golf club in a few weeks to celebrate summer.

"You gonna eat that?" Richie pointed to Ben's Chile Relleno. 

"Sure."

"Want some?" Richie offered it to Eddie as he took a bite.

"Nah to hot for me." Eddie wiped his mouth.

"You're hot and I still eat you." Richie mumbled off handedly.

Bill checked the time on his watch. 5 o'clock.

If there's not anything else you guys wanna do I think we should head home." Stan stood and stretched.

"Your probably right." Bev was quick to follow. "My dad will be wondering where I am."

The losers paused at her words. She giggled.

"Guys it was a joke. I moved in with the landlady." 

Beverley's abusive father had finally been arrested and the landlady Sally had been kind enough to let her move in.

"Come on Ed's we can swing by my place for a bit my folks won't be back till 7."

Eddie eagerly followed his boyfriend out the front door.

"Wait Bev I'll walk you back I have to head to the pharmacy anyway." Ben hurried after her.

"Wanna head back together?" Mike asked Stan and Bill.

"Sure I can swing by the farm." Bill shrugged. 

After Mike had been dropped off and Stan had left Bill on his street Bill rode back in silence. It was 6 o'clock now and still plenty bright outside but dinner would be starts soon. He kept a careful watch as he rode down his street looking for any more posters or signs that he was being followed.

He found no other indications as he pulled into his driveway and dropped his bike in the grass before hurrying up the porch steps.

"I'm back!" He called letting the screen door slam behind him.

"In time for dinner?" His father asked. "Or did you grab something with you friends?"

He eyes the burgers on the table. "Make me one I'll manage dad." 

"I hope your planning to wash up before you sit down." His mother said as she descended the stairs Georgie at her heels.

"Of course." He slid past her on the way to his room. 

Once he had washed up he headed to his room.

He almost screamed when be saw it. It took him by surprise because he hadn't seen it at first. It was there in the corner of his room by his curtains. Standing a staggering 7 feet tall. Dressed in a gray white clown suit with red pom poms. The costume was tinged with dried blood.

Bill gulped as he met it's eyes. It's bright orange hair standing out in shocks around its head. It's sinister smile with full red lips and red lines leading up to its eyes. It's piercing blue eyes that user to haunt Bill's dreams years ago.

"Hello." He whispered his hand still on the doorknob.

"Hello Billy." It answered in the high lifting voice that while others may find it disturbing Bill found it soothing.

"You're awake." 

It wasn't a question. 

"I have you to thank for that Billy." 

Bill stared at the ground his face turning scarlet. "Sorry about that."

The way that the clown was staring at him made him feel something he hadn't felt in years. It had been so long. For Bill it seemed like an eternity since they'd been together. An eternity since he'd been wrapped in silk clothes and wiry hair. Since wet kisses tinged with blood and been pressed against his skin  
Since haunting smiles, and hunting eyes had plagues his dreams.

Pennywise's expression didn't change. That was another eerie thing about it. Bill didn't always know what it was thinking.

"It's been a long time Billy." The clown unfolded itself from the wall and staggered over to Bill. It had to hunch over because if it's size. Bill backed himself into the door closing it behind him.

"Give us a kiss Billy." He cooed in his falsetto voice leaning down lower.

"W...wait." Bill said before their lips could touch. "First I have to ask you something."

The clown was not patient by nature. And when Bill had first met it there was almost nothing be could to, to stop the things that happened when Pennywise got impatient so Bill really admired when Pennywise fell back against the floor to allow Bill to speak.

Shaking Bill pulled the poster out of his pocket and showed it to Pennywise.

"This girl. You ate her didn't you?" The clown arched his head up to glance at the picture.

"I did. I didn't break my promise."

"No you didn't." He put the poster away.

"So the issue is?"

"You knew I find it."

Pennywise grinned again. His wide lips stretching to reveal his razor sharp teeth that could cut Bill into ribbons.

"Of course I did Billy. I put it up just for you. My promise or affection for you doesn't stop me from reminding you everyday of what you've gotten yourself into. Of the kids you are allowing me to kill. Even though I will not eat you."

He took a deep sniff.

"Your fear is still delicious. And the expressions on your face are intoxicating. It gives me a sense of power Billy. And you of all people know how important that is to me."

Bill tried to ignore the tingle in his stomach at the clowns words woke something inside him that he'd kept hidden for 2 years. A hunger. A need. A craving.

Pennywise grinned.

When Bill looked back up the clown was looming over him his eyes hard and his smile murderous but Bill wasn't afraid. Not anymore. Never again.

"I'm always hungry Billy. It takes all my self control to not devour you where you stand right now. To not pick off every single one of your friends. Especially that brother of yours who's fear was so potent that i almost did eat him in that sewer."

"You're disgusting." Bill said but there was no malice to his words.

"You're just as disgusting as I am."

This time Bill let the clown kiss him. He could taste the coppery flavor of blood on his teeth and he vaguely wondered if it was Bernice's.

"To keep letting this happen to the children. To be involved with the very monster that devours them."

The clowns thin nimble fingers danced through his hair and down his spine that left Bill arching against it. Silently begging for more. It had been so long.

Of course ever the trickster. Pennywise pulled away just enough that the passion was gone but he was still touching Bill.

Bill ghosted his hands across the pale white skin at the base of the collar. "I know you need to eat. I won't hate you for that remember my promise?"

Pennywise pressed a sopping wet kiss to the side of his cheek before pulling away with a mischievous grin and answering.

"I remember it everyday."


	3. Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (For those of you wo don't understand this is a flashback to how Bill met Pennywise)
> 
> When Bill saves his brother from a terrible fate he is pursued by a fearsome creature who offers him a strange deal

Bill remembers the day he first heard about the murderous clown. It had been a stormy dark day. Georgie had wanted to go boat racing in the gutters and Bill had faked being sick so he wouldn't have to go with him.

He'd stayed in his room watching out his window as Georgie raced down the street following his boat as it floated down the street. It was only when he was out of sight that Bill moved away from the window and picked up his walkie talkie.

"We can use these to talk to each other." He'd told Georgie shoving one into his pocket before he had left.

"Denbrough 2 th.... this is Denbrough 1 what's your lololocation? Over." He said into the machine.

A few seconds later the speaker crackled to life. "Denbrough 1 this is Denbrough 2 im at the corner of Maple and Pine. Over." Was the response.

"Okay I'll be checking in later stay safe. Over."

"Roger that. Over."

Bill had set the walkie talkie aside and finished his history homework. He tried not to worry about his brother. After all Derry was a safe town. His parents and grandparents had grown up here. Nothing bad had ever happened that he had ever heard of.

Except.

Bill had a feeling in his gut that day. A feeling that something wasn't right. That Georgie was in trouble. Or would be. At the same time it filled Bill with guilt. What if Georgie got kidnapped or killed or something and it was his fault because he hadn't wanted to go walking in the rain. Hadn't been there to protect him?

"Denbbbbbrough 2? This is Denbrough 1 what's your location? Ovvvvver." He spoke into his walkie talkie and waited a few moments but received no reply.

"D.... D... Denbrough 2 this is Denbro... ough 1 wwwwwhat is your l... l.. location? Over!" He said sounding a little more frantic.

Silence.

Bill ran to his closet and grabbed his rain jacket shoving the walkie talkie in his pocket and sprinting downstairs.

"Georgie isn't an. answering his walkie talkie!" He explained as he bolted out the front door out into the pounding rain and into the street. Everything was so flooded what if a car hadn't seen him and run him over? Bill remembering that Georgie had earlier said he was on the corner of Maple and Pine bolted down the street skidding to a stop at the corner. He peered down the road.

"Georgie!" He called out. "Are YOU over there?''

He was about to head in and investigate when he heard his brothers voice.

"Yeah I'm right here Bill!" And Bill sagged as he saw a familiar shape stand up from where it had been kneeling on the ground. Bill jogged over and gave his brother a grateful hug.

"You sssscared mmmmee." He admitted. "Why didn't you an... answer?" The walkie talkie was lying forgotten in the road.

"Sorry Bill but my boat got washed down the gutter and-" He stopped hands slapping over his mouth. "Oh no I wasn't supposed to tell you please don't be mad."

"Mad? I'm not mmmmmad. Georgie that w... was a paper boat that t.. tt... took me 5 minutes to mmmmake I can make a million mor... re."

"You can?" Georgie asked.

Bill nodded. "And b..besides once ssssomething washed do...down the gutter it c.cc...can't come back up again."

"Yeah that's what the clown said." George admitted.

"Clown?" Bill asked. "What clclown?"

"The one in the drain I was talking to." Georgie pointed. "He said the storm blew the whole circus away and he was stuck down there."

Bill moved away from Georgie and kneeled in front of the ominous looking hole peering into it.

"Georgie there's no one dow....down there. And hhhhhow could a whole ci... circus fit down there anywayyy? It was pro... probably just yyyyour imagination.''

"No for real Bill I really saw him!" Georgie protested. "He said his name was Pennywise the Dancing Clown and he wanted to give me a balloon and popcorn and my boat back."

Bill still not believing his brother but not wanting to argue anymore in the rain shook his head and smiled.

"Well whaddya ssssay we leave Ppppenywise alone f...for a bit ok? It's try to wet to be pl... playing."

"Ok." Georgie grabbed Bills hand. "When we get home can I have a grilled cheese?" He asked a moment later his thoughts of the clown already vanishing.

"Sssure thing." Bill promised.

He didn't hear anything about the clown until a couple of weeks later when Betty Ripson had gone missing. The police were baffled. There was no body. No evidence. No one had seen or heard anything. She'd be walking home after running an errand for her mother and never returned. Now Bill's thoughts didn't go to the supposed clown that Georgie had met in the street until Georgie had met him after school with a grim expression on his face.

"It was him Bill." He said dimmed coming into Bill's room where Bill was surfing the web.

"Him who?" Bill asked turning to face him.

"The clown."

Bill rolled his eyes. "Georgie I told y..you there was noooooo clown in the s... sewer."

"Yes there was!" Georgie protested. "I saw it! And he did do it he told me he did it. He did it for you Bill."

"This clown killed something for me?" He asked. Wondering what morbid games Georgie and his friends were playing at recess to make him talk like this.

"I heard him Billy. In my ear. He said ask your brother if I'm real enough for him now."

"Ggggeorgie!" Bill rose to his feet. "Sssstop talking like t...this!" 

"But it's true Bill you have to believe me! He said he's gonna come after me because I got away. It's gonna eat me Bill!"

Bill ushered his brother out of his room. "Don't be ridiculous. Nnnothings going to eat you. I p... promise."

After that day more kids started going missing. And Bill started noticing weird things. On more than 1 occasion he'd come home to find things on his bed. Once it was a ratty hair bow. A wooden wheel from a pull toy. A doll shoe. He wasn't sure what they meant but he tossed them into the trash anyway.

Everytime a new kid went missing a new object ended up on his bed. And every day George assaulted Bill with his fearful cries that he was going to be eaten.

The day his brother didn't come home from school there was a yellow raincoat on his bed.

"Ok so that sewer great on Maple and Pine is one possible entry point but if you head to the barracks it's easier because all the tunnels end in the same place." Ben was explaining to Bill as the two boys pored over a map of Derry in the library. 

"So I'll j...just go through the mmmmmain entrance." Bill mused.

"Why do you wanna go down there anyway?" Ben asked closing the book.

Bill opened his mouth and hesitated. What was he going to say? My brother met a clown that eats kids and is now probably going to it has already eaten him and it lives in the sewer?

"I lost something down there the other day. I'm gonna try and go find it."

He went in alone not knowing what to expect. He didn't want to drag all his friends along in case he did end up getting eaten or something and have them meet a similar fate.  
The Barracks was surprisingly easy to find. And it wasn't roped off or anything which Bill saw as highly unsafe. But his brother was down there somewhere. Supposedly with a murderous clown and by God Bill couldn't just stand idly by and do nothing.

"Georgie!" He called out once he was inside the maze of tunnels. "Georgie wwwhere are you?!" He cupped his hands around his mouth.

He heard nothing but the dripping of leaky pipes. He remembered what Ben had said. All the tunnels ended in the same place so if he kept walking he was sure to find Georgie eventually.

He tried to keep his wits about him as he moved through the sewers switching between calling out Georgie's name and op putting one foot in front of the other. 

"Georgie?" He called out again. "Are you down here?"

When he got an answer his heart rose to his throat.

"Bill?"

"Georgie!" Bill dashed down the pipe he was in into another. He raced straightforward heart pounding.

"Georgie I'm coming!" He yelled.

"Bill!"

Bill ran out of pipe and ended up in a large open room. The concrete floors, murky water, and rusty walls aren't what scared him. What scared him were the bodies floating suspended in the air above his head. Maybe 30 feet in the air they swirled on their backs looking towards the heavens. Circling a large pile of possessions in the center of the room.  
He could smell the blood from where he stood.

They were dead. 

He fearfully searched for his brother among the group. Not seeing him he was able to breath and called out his name once more.

"Georgie?"

"Bill." He turned to see his brother step out from behind the pile of objects. He was soaking wet and he looked like he'd been crying.

"Oh Georgie!" Bill raced forward and embraced his brother.

"I told you Bill. I told you he was gonna get me. I told you!" Georgie yelled as they embraced.

"I know Ggggeorgie. I know I was s...s... stupid."

He played away and wiped the tears from his brother's eyes.

"You believe me now Billy?" Georgie asked. "You believe that he's real?"

Bill once more glanced up at the bodies.

"Yes Georgie. Yes I believe in it now. Now come on let's get out of here before it gets back."

"It's already here Billy." Georgie said but his voice had changed.

Bill took a step back. "Georgie are you-" he didn't get to finish his sentence because Georgie started to grow. Shooting straight up in the air his arms and legs lengthening with him. Bill fell back against the concrete floor as Georgie's appearance changed. Morphing into a 7 foot tall clown. It was wearing a jester type costume that was a dirty white with ruffles around the neck and sleeves. Red pom poms and tassels were on the front and sleeves. The creature itself was a pale white with a red nose, lips, and lines leading from the corners of his mouth into slits through his eyes. His hair was awkwardly angled and was a coppery orange.

"Hiya Billy." The creature said breaking out in a sinister smile.

"Wwwww."

"Wwwwhats the matter Bbbbilly?" The clown taunted laughing at its own joke.

"Wwwwhat did you dddddo with my b....be..brother?"

The clown wagged a finger at him. "You're not asking the right questions Billy."

"I wwwwwant to know where Ggggeorgie is!" Bill demanded trying to sound brave.

The clown seemed to find that incredibly amusing."Why little Georgie is safe at home asleep in his bed with no memory of this whatsoever."

"You're lying." Bill accused.

The clown shrugged finding little malice in his words. "I had to getcha down here somehow Billy."

"M....me? Why me?" Bill asked.

Instead of answering the clown started circling him his eyes roam over Bill his hands splayed behind his back. "You haven't guessed?'' it asked in that eerie voice.  
"After all this time that I've been trying to get your attention?''

"By killing innocent children?!" Bill demanded.

"Leaving you those gifts that you so shamelessly keep throwing away and to think I had to resort to pretending to be your brother to make you come down here."

"What are you ggggetting at?" Bill asked.

"I've watched you Bill. Watched the way you move and talk and breath. I know how you think why you act the way you do. I know lots of things Billy. Ever since that day out in the street when you pulled your brother and his delicious fear out of my grasp I have thought about you Billy. About that spirit inside of you."

During this monologue Pennywise glided closer and closer to him. "It makes me love you Billy. It makes me want you in a way I have never wanted anything before."

He said this last sentence so close to Bill's face that the teen could feel his cold breath across his face. Could count his first row of razor teeth as the clowns mouth opened slightly and drool dribbled out.

"I know what you want and crave Billy. I can give it to you for a price."

"I....I don't know what your talking about." He'd whispered feeling trapped like a fly in a spiders web.

"Oh sure you do Billy. That pale untouched skin that just begs to be bitten and scarred. That craves to be hit and abused and used. You long to be marked up and taken don't you?"

Bill gulped. "N...No."

"Don't lie to your friend Pennywise, Billy. I've seen your thoughts. Your greatest fear. Fear that someone will discover this. Your scared right now." He paused to sniff the air. "It's absolutely delicious."

"I ddddon't know wwwwhat your t...t... talking about." Bill shuddered scrambling backwards as the creature stepped closer.

"Nothing to be ashamed of Billy. I'm offering to give you what you want. No strings attached."

"And whhhhhyyy would you dddddoooo that?" Bill asked.

Pennywise's mouth stretched into a terrifying smile. "I like it Billy. Inflicting pain. Look at all the children I've done away with. It truly is exhilarating and you would be adding to that experience."

"What if I d...did...don't want to take your offer?" Bill asked.

Pennywise sat back on his haunches. "Then I will kill Georgie and make you watch. I will pick out every single child of this town and devour their flesh and fear before the summers end and I have to sleep again. I will leave only you and while all the parents weep for their departed, lost children and wonder what happened to them you will live with the knowledge and with the guilt. Do you want that to happen Billy?"

Bill's entire body had gone cold and he wanted to cry but couldn't find the will. Part of him was disgusted and afraid. The thought of letting this clown touch him that way. And the fact that he wasn't giving him a choice was even more sickening. But if be agreed he could protect Georgie and maybe even his friends. Then the clown would only eat a few children instead of the entire town. And then there was another part of Bill and not a small part that agreed with the clown. That is what he wanted. It's why he'd never been in a relationship because he feared that whoever he was involved with would be disgusted by his desires and leave him.

Pennywise grinned as be watched Bill mull it over. 

"You still didn't answer my question from before." Bill finally said. "Why me?" He didn't stutter once.

That was a tough question to answer. Lurking in the sewer with it's prey inches away. It'd been so close. His flesh looked so tantalizing. And then before it could reach out and take the young boy, big brother Billy had raced in to the rescue and he'd been forced to hide in the shadows to not be detected. Not knowing why but that had bothered Pennywise. Who was this adolescent teen who thought he had the right to steal his prey from him? So it had ended up following the pair home. He'd watched the boy from outside his second story window as he did his homework and ate dinner. As he took a shower and crawled into bed and gone to sleep. This had continued for a few nights Pennywise hating this simple boy everytime he saw him and promising to make him suffer when one night the routine changed. Instead of immediately heading to the shower after his homework the boy had gone to his closet. Pulling up a loose floorboard he'd extracted a box. Curiosity got the better of the clown and he morphed through the wall watching as the teen opened it to reveal what was inside. A small leather riding crop. Barely bigger than a ping pong paddle. And what he'd done next has truly shocked the clown.

He hit himself. Or rather spanked himself. Arching over the bed as he did so. He bit down on his pillow as he continued to do this and rutted against the bed frame. Pennywise couldn't tear his eyes away. He could see his lips moving mumbling something indecipherable and before long he was coming. The clown had left after that an idea already forming in it's mind.   
That's when it became obsessed with Bill Denbrough. With every child he killed he left a trophy for Bill to find in his room. He invaded his dreams to find more hidden desires of the boy and he knew that he had to someway make the boy his.

"It could've been anyone I suppose." Pennywise mumbled. "Anyone's brother or sister. Anyone I could've followed and found out secrets about." It was lying to itself. It was Billy. Just Billy. It's Billy.

"So if I agree to this you'll leave Georgie alone?" Bill asked.

Pennywise nodded.

"And my friends?" Bill clarified.

After a moment of consideration it nodded again.

Standing up Bill sighed and extended his hand for a shake.

"It's a deal." He murmured.

Pennywise's hand folded over his and pulled him in connecting their lips.  
When he pulled away Bill wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"So were you thinking like tonight or-" Bill's voice was cut off when the clown wrapped it's fingers around his wrist and smirked.

"Why wait?"


	4. A Steamy Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill and Pennywise enjoy each others company in an..... interesting way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long but here's some smut

"Did you know that they added 3 new characters to street fighter?" Richie sucked on his popsicle and surveyed the rest of his friends in their underground bunker.

Stan took a bite out of his and spoke. "Did you know that nobody cares?"

Bev who was trying to find a signal on the radio giggled.

"You're on thin fucking ice Uris." Richie warned from his place in the hammock. 

Eddie who was reading a comic book next to him rolled his eyes. "Shut up Richie." He murmured

"Ya know where's Bill I am fucking outnumbered here and Bill will tell you guys to shut the fuck up."

"He called me." Ben said looking away from the beam he was hammering into place. "He said he had some chores to do and he wasn't gonna be done for a couple hours."

"Pussy." Richie mumbled turning back to his magazine.

The chores excuse was a lie. Billy was not in fact at his own home cleaning it. He was at the Neibolt house getting his brains fucked out by an alien entity.

Bill rolled up in front of the abandoned house that the kids of the town and nicknamed "The crack house." No one dared go inside because of all the tales of homeless people and drug addicts that lived there and supposedly had never come out. A few stupid teens had dared one another to spend the night in that house but no one stayed longer than an hour.

Bill remembered the first time he had ever entered this house. The sense of betrayal that had been a weight in his chest. A lot of things had happened in this house. Eddie had broken his arm. Bill had been faced with the legless body of Betty. Richie had ran down his fear of clowns. And all in a frantic search for Beverly who had been held hostage. 

He dropped his bike in the grass and climbed the stairs making sure no one was around as he pushed open the heavy door. The floor boards creaked noisily under his feet as entered the front room which looked just as he had left it. The hole in the ceiling and broken table evidence of what had happened a couple of years ago. 

He walked past that room and down the wide hallway to the stairs leading down to the cellar. He remembered descending those stairs once before. Fear and desperation gripping at his heart. When he made it to the bottom he saw the broken well where the monster resided while it was sleeping.  
He placed his hands over the edge of it and peered into the deep inky blackness.

"Look familiar Billy?" Bill couldn't help it he spun around. The sudden voice had frightened him and he couldn't stop the fear that felt like ice in his chest for a moment. It was gone as soon as his eyes fell upon the tall figure standing in the doorway but he didn't miss the twitch of the monster's lips as he got a taste of it.

"Yyyyou scared m.... me." Bill said a hand pressing against his chest.

"I know." The monster moved across the room until he was in front of Bill. He ran his thin lithe fingers down Bill's face slowly and tenderly. Bill closed his eyes leaning into the tender touch that quickly was taken from him as Pennywise's fingers grabbed his chin roughly tipping his head up to meet his eyes. 

"You've been away a while Billy." The clown cooed. "You've let your old friend Pennywise be here all alone. With nobody to keep me company."

"I di... di.. didn't mean to." Bill gasped as the clowns hand moved to cup his throat. Not really squeezing but letting Bill know that it could if it wanted to.

"You've been very very naughty Billy." He asked wagging a finger in front of his face. "Do you know what happens to naughty boys?"

"W...what?" Bill's voice cracked fear clawed at him at the clowns gaze which is what it wanted.

"They get punished." The last word was whispered in Bill's ear and he shivered as the clown using the grip on his throat lifted him up into the air to dangle in front of its eyes.

"Pppp....please don't hh..h.. hurt me." Bill whispered. "I'm s.. s.. sorry."

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Pennywise whined mimicking him before chuckling darkly. "Sorry doesn't fix everything Billy. Sorry doesn't fix poor lonely Pennywise does it?"

"No." He whispered.

"No." The clown agreed. "So what are we going to do with our good friend Billy?" 

Billy knew the answer and it did something to him. The clown knew he wanted this. He had a word if what the clown did to him became to much. He'd never had to use it but still he knew it.

"What are we going to do to our friend Billy?" Pennywise asked again.

"P...p...p..punish mmmme?" He whispered almost inaudibly his voice being steadily taken from him by the tightening grip around his neck.

In way of a response the clown released his neck setting him on the ground. He allows Bill a moment to breath rubbing at his neck and catching his breathe. His eyes move to the clown which has circled around him and is now crouched on the floor. His eyes have gone orange and his mouth has hung open revealing the rows of the razor sharp teeth within. The glowing light in his throat. A predatorial growl rips past his lips and Bill's heart cowers behind his rib cage. He takes a step backwards. He's afraid and that is what fuels Pennywise.

"Run Billy." He says and that is all Bill needs to have him spinning around and sprinting towards the open door. He shoulder checks it as the clown lunges at him and he almost stumbles but he races down the hall as he hears the clatter of feet behind him. Not wanting to know what form it has taken he trips up the stairs.

This is the part it enjoys. The chase. The appetizer before the main course. Racing after Bill to get his blood pumping and heart racing to taste his fear and develop a hunger for it.

Bill doesn't know where exactly he is running to. He knows it will catch him before he reaches the front door. And that is where he heads. Because that is the second best part. The capture.

Bill's feet slide on the moth eaten carpet as the front door greets him. The sound of snarling can be heard from behind him. 

Before he can touch the knob something slams into him pinning him to the heavy oak. His hands are trapped between his chest and the door. He can feel hot breath against his neck. The heavy weight pressing against his back leaving him feeling faint.

The clown pauses to take a deep intake of breath. Tasting Bill's fear. It laps the air for a moment before tangling it's fingers in Bill's hair.

"You didn't get away Billy." It purrs.

Bill gulps. "N..no."

The clown chuckles. "You didn't want to get away."

Bill squeezes his eyes shut forehead resting against the door.  
"Yes I ddddid."

The shift in mood is so fast Bill barely has time to react before he is being spun around his back now clamped in the clowns spindly hands. It is supposed to be this way. It's movements quick and unpredictable. To keep Bill on his toes. To keep the game fun.

"Mouthy aren't we?" It asked. It's mouth dangerously close to Bill's throat. "Mouthy prey is fun but not very tasty." It lets the edge of its razor sharp teeth graze Bill's jugular which send goosebumps down his skin.

The clown sighs breathing in deeply. "Maybe we should teach the prey a lesson. So it thinks before it mouths off again." He pulls his mouth away receiving a small whine from Bill. 

"Don't worry Billy." The clown grabs his wrist in a bone crushing hold. "I intend to have my cake and eat it to."

He's shoved on to the floor kicking and struggling. Fighting back. The clown seems to find this amusing as it straddles him watching his fists miss it's head by inches. "Fiesty aren't we?" It asks grabbing Bill's wrists effortlessly and pinning them above his head.

And although Bill struggles it's part of the dance. The predator and prey. Pennywise loves to dominate his boy however he can and Bill loves the struggle and the helplessness. It's an understanding of one another and what they need.

"Are you going to be good or will I have to tie you down?" The clown asks wagging a finger at him. And maybe on a different day Bill would be in the mood to let Pennywise have his way. But he hadn't felt like this in 2 years. Hadn't been man handled by skilled hands. Hadn't been struck with blows that left his skin stinging for days. Hadn't felt the intoxicating burn of the struggling and the overpowering.

Bill spit in the clowns face. 

His eyes immediately darkened. It was all part of the act of course but it caused Bill's heart to jump into full speed. And of course that's why the clown did it. Because Bill's fear or any fear for that matter was delicious.

"Alrighty then Billy." The arm that isn't holding him stretches out across the living room. Bill is entranced watching it snake across the floor stopping at the shredded curtains. It tears a section off and snaps back quicker than before. In seconds Bill's hands are bound above his head.

"No hands. Get it Billy?" The clown giggles at the joke. "Come on that was funny." It's stalling on purpose. Not giving Bill what he wants. The clown gets a glint in its eye. "You know they always teach children not to play with their food. But it really is so fun."

At this his shirt is gripped tightly in both the clowns fists.

"Don't." He whispers. 

In way of a response it rips. His shirt splitting down the front baring his chest and stomach open for the clown. It considers for a moment shoving a piece of cloth in Bill's mouth to silence his cries but decides against it. It's been ages since its heard whimpers in it's ear and felt bare skin under its hands.

Bill's head is turned to the side and he stares at the wall as the clowns hands tease over him not touching him but giving the impression every second that it might.

"Do something damnit!" Bill cursed writhing in his spot on the floor.

The clown's mood shifted. Bill was restless. Maybe it would keep him that way a little longer.

"Relax Billy." The clown cooed one silk gloved hand massaging his shoulder pinned to the floor. It rubbed circles there for a few moments before travelling down his chest and circling his nipple.

Bill whined at he scarce contact of a palm kneading his skin.

"Please." He whispered. "Please please please!"

"Please what?" It paused it's movements relishing in the way Bill's eyes screwed shut. 

"Please just TOUCH me!" Tears trickled out the corners of his eyes and he panted short shallow breaths past his bruised lips.

He was so beautiful.

"Why didn't you say so?" Pennywise purred this time using his fingers to tease Bill's nipples. Bill couldn't help the sounds that slipped past his lips as the clowns experienced fingers rolled his buds between them. The sounds increased in frequency and volume as it wrapped it's mouth around one.

The drool that dripped down his chest was tinged red. With the blood of some poor child. The clown only pulled away when both his nipples were an angry sensitive red. 

"You used to be so good at handling this Billy." The creature tsked at the state his boy was in. Bill opened his tear stained eyes just in time to watch the clown lean down and capture his lips in a searing kiss.

"Please no more." Bill weakly pleaded. He wasn't exaggerating his shuddering breaths as the clown removed his shoes and socks. So many barriers were frustrating to him when he just wanted bare unyielding skin beneath his hands.

"N...no." Bill bent his knees trying to dissuade the clown from its task. 

Despite the cracked tone of his voice and the tears Pennywise continued. It knew what Bill could take and if he couldn't then he had his safe word.

Once his feet were bare the clown went to work on his pants.

Bill rolled from side to side as it unbuttoned and unzipped him. With his hands bound there was little he could do but protest.

"Stop fighting me." Pennywise ordered hooking it's fingers in Billy's belt loops and yanking harshly being careful. He couldn't send his boy out with any more shredded clothes.

Pale trembling thighs greeted him and even Bill forgot the game they were playing as he felt silky hands caress him. He was careful not to ask for more. Then he wouldn't get any.

The boy was reacting to his touches beautifully. It took notice to the way his breathing changed as it cupped his inner thighs rubbing circles into the sensitive skin.

"Good boy Billy." It purred leaning it's head down to nibble the inside of his legs. Bill's first instinct was to clamp them shut tight like a vice against the clowns head. Pennywise didn't seem to mind and continued. Bill panted and whined like he was running a marathon. He could feel the hot tingle in his stomach as he neared his release. Pennywise also showed no signs of stopping. His gloved hand began hurriedly rubbing against Bill's clothed crotch.

"That'sssss it Billy." Pennywise purred as his hips bucked into his hands. Pennywise returned each thrust with a push from the palm of it's hand working Bill closer to his release. Bill's cock was restricted and tight within his boxers and he wanted nothing more than for the clown to have its way with him. It seemed a small price to pay.

"I....I'm gonna." Bill didn't get to finish his sentence before an expert turn of its wrist caused Bill to see stars as he came and a sticky warm liquid trickled down his leg.

Once Pennywise had finished getting him worked up he pulled away allowing his boy seconds to breathe. He licked the sweet liquid from Bill's thighs and Bill was to far gone to notice. When he came back down to Earth he was the clown sitting back on its haunches admiring it's handiwork. 

It met his eyes and smiled. "Are you done?" It asked.

Bill gulped in another breath of air so his voice wouldn't crack when he answered. "Yes."

A fist clenched in his hair slamming his head down into the wood floor beneath him. Bill saw stars dance in front of his vision by the force of the blow.

"Wrong answer." It hissed into his ear. "You're done when I say so!" And with these words Bill's boxers were yanked off his legs in a fluid movement.

But the fun was far from over.

Pennywise's hand gripped his knee and tossed him over onto his stomach and not so gently moved him until he was kneeling with his face in the floor and his ass in the air and for a moment it paused. It had been to long since Bill had been like this laid out and tempting him. 

It was almost perfect.

Almost.

"Billy." Its voice was husky in his ear and Bill shivered. "Billy boy you know I've just had the most wonderful idea."

Bill turns his head to the side trying to find it but he can only look so far and suddenly it's at his other ear.

"What if I left you here for a little while?" It chuckles. "Wouldn't that be something? To leave you tied up and vulnerable here and I could go after your friends." Its voice drops. "I could bring them here and they'd see you with me and they'd know what we were and they'd hate you." Bill knows this will not happen but he can't help the cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.   
Pennywise takes notice and continues.

"And then once they had a good. Long. Look at you I'd eat them. Right here in front of you. I'd make you watch. And I'd use their blood as lube."

Bill shivers as the image appears in his brain. His friends with looks of horror and disgust written on their faces their lifeless bodies laying on the floor as he is fucked senselessly into it.

"Or I could just kill little Billy." He cooed and runs a hand down his neck. "Have his body floating in my deadlights for the rest of eternity for me to do with as I want whenever i want."

To Bill that was a fate worse than anything. He remembered seeing Beverly floating in its deadlights. How her soul had been trapped in one place. Forever if the losers hadn't found her.

And Pennywise was so deranged it might do just that. If it didn't want Bill to age anymore. It could keep him floating in a sea of nothingness forever. And that reality is what scared Bill.

There it was the reaction Pennywise had been waiting for.

"Am I scaring you Billy?'' it asked rolling him over onto his back.

Bill's eyes met it's orange predatorial ones and his breath caught in his throat.

"Yes." He whispered.

"Say it." Pennywise ordered pressing a firm palm to Bill's chest.

Bill gulped. "You're scaring me."

Pennywise grinned his mouth stretching wide to reveal razor sharp teeth. It was the same look it had given the losers in Bill's garage when they had been looking through old photos of Derry.

"Good."


	5. Nobody But Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Losers go to their Quarry and Pennywise decides to have some fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry this took so long my wifi has been WACK

The next morning Bill woke up in his bed with an aching pain in his hips and with a girl’s pink hair ribbon on the pillow beside him. He already knew who had brought it to him and that if he turned on the news, he’d discover who it belonged to.

But Bill didn’t care about that at the moment. He was going out with his friends again to the Quarry to go swimming. He tucked the ribbon into a box under his bed as he’d been doing since he’d fallen for the clown. They were like a weird sort of gift and it was the thought that counted.

“Billy!” His brother Georgie raced into his room a moment later and bounded onto his bed.

Bill welcomed the interruption and hugged his brother tight glad that he was alive for another day thanks to his big brother.

“What are the plans for today Georgie?” Bill asked setting him down on the floor.

“Mom’s making me go to the store with her.” Georgie crossed his arms and pouted.

Bill cringed as well. He remembered being Georgie’s age and having to endure the incredibly boring ordeal of sitting in a shopping cart for hours while his mom browsed the aisles.

“Sorry G-Georgie but it’s a tra-tra-tradition. Everyone’s gotta d-d-do it.” Bill rummaged around in his drawer for some swim trunks.

“Can’t I go with you and your friends?” Georgie whined feebly as his brother made the clothes switch. Bill smiled.

“S-S-Sorry bro no can do, mom would k-k-kill m-me.”

Georgie looked forlorn for only a second longer before Bill was ruffling his hair. “Hey look on the bright side. A store trip with mom means ice cream if you’re good.”

The boy’s eyes lit up and he grinned. “Yeah I forgot about that!” And with new spirit ran down the stairs.

Bill rolled his eyes as he finished getting ready wishing he could remember when he was that young with that much wonder. He grabbed his duffel bag and slipped his sneakers on his feet before tramping down the stairs.

“Breakfast’s ready Bill.” His mother dropped bacon and eggs on a plate In front of him. Bill dropped his duffel bag and took a seat.

“Thanks mom.” He shoveled the food into his mouth. He’d need all the energy he could get for the day ahead.

“So, you’re headed down to the Quarry today?” She asked pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“That’s the plan.” Bill murmured through a mouthful of food. His mother shot him a look and he swallowed before continuing. “I’ll be back by dinner.”

‘’I trust you Bill.” His mother planted a kiss on top of his head while she went in search of her keys. Bill finished the rest of his breakfast his eyes staring out the window waiting for his friends to appear.

The clown growled. Yesterday it had consumed the flesh of a little girl known as Ella Young. She’d been easy to catch it didn’t even have to chase her. It wasn’t hungry. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was this boy that Pennywise had gotten itself wrapped around. It really hadn’t meant to get attached. When it first began its little meetings with him it had been a scare tactic. It thought it would scare the boy over an extended period of time before eventually devouring him. While at the same time releasing Pennywise from some of its pent-up urges. But every time that it had, had a chance it didn’t. It let the boy slip away out of its grasp without hesitation. Let him leave in one piece. And each time he did it would tell itself. Next time. Next time he wouldn’t let the boy leave. Next time he would feed on his flesh and his fear. Next time he would end this. But Pennywise had made a dire mistake. It had gotten attached to the boy. It caught itself tenderly holding him for a few moments after they had finished. Running its claws through his hair.

It was the day it had pressed its lips to the side of his face that it knew it was truly doomed.

Then it was honoring its promise to Bill Denbourgh. Looking the other way when it came upon his friends or brother. But it could not live with that knowledge that the boy had truly outdone him. So, it had begun slowly picking away at his mind. Teasing him with the knowledge of the children it was killing. That Bill was letting it kill. While it slept it would haunt Bill’s own dreams with the memories of what Pennywise had done. Bill would be forced to toss and turn faced with the bloodlust and the cries of the innocent child.

And he came to Pennywise’s side each time after. No hesitation in his eyes. With his arms outstretched and ready and waiting. Despite all it did to him. Despite how many times it hurt him. It knew he loved it and would keep coming back till the end of time.

The end of time.

It had eternity.

Bill Denbourgh did not.

“Ok who’s jumping off first this time?” The sound of a voice drifted to where Pennywise napped in the opening of the sewer near the Quarry. It licked its lips and crept forward to get a closer look at its prey.

Richie was first to glance over the edge of the massive cliff into the water below. He had already stripped his clothes off and now waited hands on his hips for his friends to join him.

Eddie for once not looking embarrassed by his boyfriend smiled as he shed his shirt.

Beverly un-shamefully followed suit but the boys didn’t stare anymore. Bev was their friend.

“What do you say Bill?” She asked grinning at the teen who was last to park his bike.

“W-w-what?” He asked dropping his duffel bag. “M-me go f-f-first?”

“Why not?” She shrugged.

“Come on Bill?” Ben slapped him on the back hoping to inspire him to take the terrifying leap into the water.

“He’s not gonna do it.” Mike said stuffing his shoes in his bag. “I’ll go first.”

“You’re all crazy.” Stan declared. “You aren’t gonna catch me jumping in first.”

“That’s because you’re a pussy Stanley.” Richie retorted before turning his attention back to Bill. “C’mon Bill. Are you gonna let Mike have all the glory?”

Bill licked his lips as he stared at the cliff face before him. He wasn’t scared per say but he didn’t like being in the center of attention. He’d be perfectly content to have Mike take the leap before him. But that was the old Bill Denbourgh. The nice quiet Bill Denbourgh. Now Bill wanted to be in the limelight. To prove that he was not broken.

Without even thinking about it he jumped.

What a disappointment. Pennywise stared at the Losers Club high above the cliff face shedding their clothes preparing to jump into the water below. They were out of his territory. Protected by Bill. And Bill was there to plunging 30 feet into the Quarry below with a whoop of celebration and spirit. The clown ducked into the sewer drain to avoid detection as he watched Bill emerge with a triumphant fist in the air. His friends were soon to follow. He remembered a similar scene 2 summers ago. The summer it had met Bill. It shook his head. Reminiscing was bad. Pennywise watched as Beverly surfaced and put an arm around Bill’s shoulder. It growled. Bill was its and not that skank Beverly. Besides her and the fat boy had something going on.

“Didn’t know you had it in you Denbourgh.” Mike said once his head and broke above the water.

“Me either.” Bill confessed

Richie who had been rather silent and was staring off into the distance suddenly turned towards them. “Guys we got company.”

“Is it Henry Bowers breaking out of juvie to kill us all?” Eddie asked turning to look where his boyfriend was indicating.

But it wasn’t. It was……a girl.”

“Holy shit.” Stan whispered. “How long has she been there?”

The girl looked to be about their age. She was tall and slim with fiery red orange hair that hung down her back. She had an ample hourglass figure with pale skin and was wearing a white grey romper that complimented her tremendously.

“Dude she’s hot.” Richie whispered earning a punch from Eddie.

“What should we do?” Mike asked. Beverly rolled her eyes. “Guys she’s a girl not an alien.” She stuck one arm out of the water. “Hey wanna join us?”

The girl cocked her head as though considering it for a moment before she nodded following the rock path to where they were swimming. Once near them Bev swam forward to extend a hand in greeting. “Beverly Marsh. But you can just call me Bev.”

The girl shook it politely her face betraying no emotion. “Penny Gray.” She whispered.

“You new in town Penny Gray?” Mike asked as the girl began untying her shoes.

Penny nodded. “My family moved into a house just on the outskirts of Derry on the West Side.”

“That’s a long walk from there.” Mike said.

Penny shrugged once her feet were bare. “My dad works in town so he drove me to find some friends.”

“Who’s your dad?” Eddie asked. ‘’In case we ever meet him.”

Without hesitation she answered. “Robert Gray.”

Not recognizing the name but not caring enough to further interrogate her the losers waited as she slipped off her clothes and folded them on a rock before slipping into the water.

“I’m Mike.” Mike introduced himself. “Sorry for the third degree.”

“No worries.” Penny smiled at him.

“I’m Richie.” Richie shoved Mike under the water to approach Penny.

“Yes, I’m sure you are.” Penny grimaced.

“Stop molesting her trash mouth!” Eddie shoved him as he smiled at the girl. “Eddie Kasapbrak. Excuse my boyfriend.”

“Stanley Uris.” Stan only nodded from where he sat on a rock drying himself.

“I’m Ben.” The chubby teen grinned and Penny flashed a dazzling smile back.

“We meet again fat boy.” She whispered.

Bill had yet to introduce himself as he was pulling himself up on the rocks beside Stanley.

Penny turned her full attention to him and smiled. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.” She said.

Bill squinted into the sun and looked down at the girl in the water. “B-Bill. Nice to m-m-meet you.”

Penny didn’t take her eyes off of his for several minutes a sight which Richie noticed and caused him to get a wonderful idea.

“Let’s play chicken!” He crowed. “Eddie on my shoulders, Penny get on Bill.”

“Aw come on Richie.” Bill complained standing up.

“What’s wrong?” Penny asked innocently. “You don’t want me to……...mount you?”

Bill shook his head thinking he’d upset her. “Th-that is n-n-not what I m-m-m-meant.” As if to prove it he slid back in the water. Penny stepped onto the rock and straddled Bill’s neck. His hands hooked around her knees.

With a wild whoop Bev climbed onto Ben much to the boy’s delight leaving Stan to climb on top of Mike.

“Last guy off loses.” As if to state his victory already Richie locked his elbows snugly around Eddie’s bony legs and threw Bill a wild grin. Bill glanced up at the mysterious fiery haired girl who shot him a knowing smile. Bill managed a small one back.

“Alright let’s get this over with.”

Penny Gray proved to be a smart adversary because she had incredible strength. Within seconds Stanley, Bev, and Eddie were in the water and Bill was exchanging a triumphant high five with her.

“Wow Gray impressive how’d you get so strong?” Richie asked cracking his knuckles as the losers dried on the bank.

Penny grinned from where she was wringing out her hair on the towel, she had placed next to Bill. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Bill grinned and fist bumped her. “Well whatever it is keep it up. That’s a gift.”

Penny turned pink at his praise. “Thanks Billy.” She beamed.

“Man, what time is it?” Mike asked as he shoved his wet clothes into his bag. “I’ve gotta be back at the farm at 2.”

“It’s only noon man relax.” Richie put his phone away and stretched out in the sun.

“You know how my grandpa gets.” Mike hopped on one foot to pull on his shoe.

“Yeah I’d better go to.” Bill said checking his messages.

Dad- Come home soon. Georgie Little League game 1:15

“Really?” Stanley asked looking disappointed as both boys stood.

“Georgie has a little league game.” Bill explained getting dressed as well.

Penny was on her feet soon after. “Yeah I should probably head into town to. My dad’s supposed to give me money for lunch.”

“I’m headed that way I can walk you if you want.” Mike offered.

Penny tried to conceal her grimace as Richie grabbed Mike’s arm.

“What are you doing?” He whisper shouted into his ear.

“Being polite?” Mike sounded confused.

“She likes Bill.” Richie hinted. “Let them walk home together.”

Mike winked signaling he understood.

“Hey on second thought Penny I remembered that my grandpa wanted me to pick up some chops from the butcher on the way home and I don’t think you want to lug raw meat through town.”

“Definitely not.” Penny confirmed.

“I can take you into town.” Bill offered. “I go right through on the way home.”

“Sure!” Penny immediately started pulling on her shoes as Bill started up the steep rock path to the top of the cliff. When Penny was ready, he extended a hand to help her up.

Pennywise was glad to be going away from those distracting food humans who were taking up most of Billy’s attention. Bill didn’t really need them anyway. They were just amusement for passing the time. Especially time that Pennywise should be sleeping.

“So how do you like Derry so far?” Bill asked in a conversational tone as they broke through the trees.

Penny didn’t respond. When Bill looked at her, her eyes were on him a small smile on her face.

“Penny you okay?” He asked before her hand came up to cup the side of his face.

“Penny w-w-what are you d-d-doing?” He asked backing himself into a tree and looking nervously at the girl who smirked.

“What’s wrong Billy? Don’t you like me?” She asked. “I thought we were getting along so well.”

“L-l-l-look P-penny you seem really great.” He removed her hand and held them firmly at her sides. “But uh- there’s someone else.”

Penny’s expression didn’t change. But her voice did. What used to be the voice of a teenage girl was now a low growl that did not belong to her at all.

“Yes, I know Billy.” Then her lips were on his. The hand on his shoulder grew till claws were forming digging into that spot and his waist. Penny herself grew, and grew several feet past what she had been earlier. Her hair dropping out until it was a shock on top of the head of Pennywise.

“Hello Billy.” It purred before pressing their lips together. Bill managed to wrestle away from it and looked up in disbelief.

“It was you the whole time!?” He asked.

Pennywise seemed to find Bill’s distress incredibly amusing. “What isn’t it a nice surprise?” It asked reaching down to trail its fingers down his face. Bill grabbed its wrist and the clown’s eyes flashed.

“Careful Billy.” It warned.

“Oh, don’t pull that with me! You can’t let me have one fucking day with my friends!? What are you afraid I’ll run off with somebody else!?”

“Watch yourself Billy.”

“What are you gonna do anyway, kill me?”

The hand was easily yanked out of his grasp and Bill was being gripped into its two strong hands and was pressed into a tree.

“No Billy boy.” It growled drool dripping off its teeth. “I wouldn’t kill you. That would be to humane.”

The clown’s eyes had turned a very fearful orange and Bill could feel that feeling again.

He was afraid.

“But I can do other things Billy.” It spit his name out pressing its nose against Bill’s neck.

Bill stiffened. It wouldn’t do anything to kill him. He knew that. But it had no problem harming him. And it didn’t bother to hide it either.

“Please don’t I’m sorry.” Bill whispered his hands gripping the ruffle around its neck.

“What kind of creature would I be if I let you get away without a hitch?” Its forked tongue darted out licking a strip up Bill’s neck making the teen shudder.

“I-i-i-i.”

“We use our words Billy.” Its breath hot against his throat was making his vision go glossy and he couldn’t have formed a coherent sentence if his life depended on it.

“Now what should I do?” It easily pinned him to the tree with one arm while the other hand trailed from his face to his chin cupping it in two fingers and tilting it up swiveling his head from side to side. It dropped his chin and trailed a finger down his chest pulling up is shirt to expose his stomach and furrowing its brows as if deeply considering what to do.

“How longs it been since I marked you up Billy?” It asked. “Couple years at least I think.”

Images from that first summer rush into Bill’s head. His wrists harshly tied to a pipe or a fence or whatever was close by at the time. Sharp teeth piercing his skin leaving scars that lasted weeks. Silk gloved hands that left stinging welts on bare skin or that wrapped unforgivingly around his neck stopping his flow of hair, stopping his aching cock from releasing, stopping the cries from flowing past his lips.

“You looked so pretty covered in marks.” Pennywise growled as its lips found their way to Bill’s neck again. Bill cried out in pain as the razor-sharp fangs cut into his skin. Its hand clapped over his mouth to silence him as it lapped at the trickles of blood that ran down Bill’s neck. The spot had turned an angry red and the two gashes where it had pierced his skin were rimmed with red.

Bill openly sobbed as it brought him down from the tree and it lapped the tears that streamed down his face. Bill hurt too much to stand and he felt himself melting into the clowns embrace as it held him up.

He needed it. He knew that. He’d become so dependent on it that he didn’t know what he would do without it. While it slept, he was miserable but when he was awake Bill’s life was a jumble of passion.

“I-i-i-im s-s-sorry.” He sobbed his hands gripping the fabric of its clothes. “I n-need y-you.

“I know Billy.” It scooped him up in its arms as he sobbed with reckless abandon his neck throbbing with pain. The clown cradled him in one arm and began heading not towards the town of Derry but to the opening of the sewer.

“W-w-where are w-w-we go-going?” He sniffled.

“Home Billy.”

“But-but home is th-that w-way.” Bill protested.

Pennywise looked down at him an unknown emotion in its eyes. Something Bill had never seen before. Before its eyes turned back to the blue Bill was used to and it sighed.

It fucking sighed.

“I know Billy.” It said again. But it didn’t change its course

Bill didn’t say anything more in protest allowing himself to be lulled in the clown’s arms. Maybe there was something wrong with him but he wouldn’t wish to be anywhere else.


	6. Darling Let Me Go Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pennywise teaches Bill a lesson and does a little thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long  
> Be sure to leave comments and tell me what you think

He is faintly aware of the sound of running water. He opens his eyes and finds himself eye to eye with a Jack-In-The-Box. The cheerful painted face smiling widely back at him and it takes him a moment to realize that he is not in his bedroom. He looks up confused and sees Pennywise. His head is in the clown’s lap and it’s looking off into the distance. Bill sits up but instead of standing he settles back against the clown’s chest.

It’s nice to be like this, with no worries of looking over his shoulder or making sure his brother is nearby. When Bill can forget that anything other than this exists.

They are in the sewer. Bill remembers being carried there after their argument in the forest.

“How long have I been out?” He asks it, craning his head up to look it in the eye.

Instead of answering, the clown grabs him by the hair and pulls it back, baring his neck forward and runs a silk gloved finger over his slit skin. “Did it hurt?” It asks tenderly touching the slashes it's teeth had made. Bill hisses at the pain and his eyes water. 

“Yes.” And it still does, but he knows that is what it wants. 

Pennywise smirks and releases him and they lay there in a comfortable silence for a few more moments. It is moments like these that Bill craves as well, when for a moment both him and the clown are sated and they can just lie together. Pennywise is absently running its fingers through his hair and seems amused when Bill lets out a contented sigh. It's moments of kindness are rare and few between but when it does happen Bill marvels at the sheer range of the clown's emotions. From murderous and bloodthirsty to gentle and loving. Bill’s fingers toy with the cuff of its free sleeve and they remain silent like this for some time.

“I have to go.” He finally whispers. The arm slithers around his waist and holds him tighter against the clown's chest like an iron vice. Like he is something to own and be kept.

“No, you don’t.” And the possessive side is back.

“My parents are going to wonder where I am.” He’s trying to stand up now but its grip doesn’t falter or soften.

“Let them. I know you’re safe.” It growls 

Bill wants to wiggle out of it’s grip. Sometimes this attitude annoys him, when the clown thinks Bill is it’s property for it to just boss around whenever it pleases  
“Pennywise!” He twists around in it’s grip till they are chest to chest so they can look at each other. 

The clown looks unamused and unbothered by Bill’s outburst yet it’s eyes narrow at his tone of voice. “Careful Billy.” It rasps.

Bill narrows his eyes and presses his hands against the clown's chest trying to push away as an arm slithers around his shoulders and presses him flush against its front and then it’s hot breath is at his ear.

“Watch the attitude Billy.” Pennywise hisses. “I could snap you in half right here.”

Bill shudders but keeps his head, he can’t be intimidated at a time like this. “Do it.” He growls back. “You don’t have the guts.”

A predatorial growl rips forth out of the clown’s throat and before Bill can even think to be afraid he is flipped over onto his back and being pressed into the cold dirty ground. “Guess you didn’t learn your lesson in the woods Billy.” It’s eyes narrow and turn orange as i’s jaw opens impossibly wide.

For a single split second Bill thinks he’s lost it. Pennywise has snapped and Bill is going to die, and then he crushes that down as deep as he can and hates himself for even thinking it as a tongue snakes around his face under his chin. That will never happen. 

He tries not to cringe at the drool that drips onto him and the reeking scent of blood. “You’re disgusting.” He whispers but the words have little venom as he is inches from the clowns razor sharp teeth.

The tongue retracts and Pennywise snarls. “Oh Billy.” It chuckles and then grips his shoulders picking him up in the air with ease and laying him stomach down across his knees. “Still such a naughty boy.”

The first slap is a sudden surprise, it stings but Bill cries out more in shock than pain. He wiggles in the hard unmoving grip digging his nails into powerful legs. “Let go of me!” He hisses.

The clown ignores him and spanks him again this time harder and his eyes sting, this time the cry that slips past his lips is for a reason.

“You see Billy.” Pennywise swats him again as Bill gasps for air and coherency. He loves this, he needs this and Pennywise knows it, it knows that when he begs to be released it is actually a plea to be held tighter, to be handled more roughly. To be loved so very thoroughly.  
“See what?” He whispers. 

In way of an answer he gets strong hands that wrap around his waist and unbutton his pants. Thankfully Pennywise says nothing about the way Bill immediately lifts his hips so they can be taken off. “You fight like you want to get away, but the moment you’re shown a little bit of love you stretch right out on your back.”

He wants to argue, to say it isn’t true. To fight back with the little dignity he has left to do so, but his underwear is being tugged down and he can hear that fucking water and all he can think about is right here and right now and it touching him.

“Please.” he whispers, wiggling his hips searching for friction. He’ll beg for it if that's what it takes, spit out pleas and nonsense through his teeth till he’s choking on it. Anything as long as he gets to keep feeling what he’s feeling right now. He just fucking wishes it would stop being so light about it.

“Have we learned some manners now Billy?” He sighs as a hand massages the skin just above his ass and he shudders spine arching just slightly. He’s desperate and it knows it. 

“Please, i’m sorry.” He whines. He’ll shut his damn mouth now about stupid trivial junk if he can just-

The next slap is everything he needs his hands ball into fists and he braces himself against the clown's leg as his mouth opens in an embarrassing cry and his wrists are seized in a powerful hand. Held tight in front of him pulling his body taut. Again the slap comes down and Bill finds it harder to breathe with everyone. His ribs are heaving, his heart jumping a mile a minute and he needs friction.

“I can’t….i need” He pants he can’t speak.

“I know Billy, but naughty prey doesn’t get privileges like that.”

The denial. His knees bow legs spreading a little wider as his hips jerk.

Another smack his delivered to his ass swift and unforgiving. His hips jerk forward rutting against the clown’s clothed thigh. It feels wonderfully but it isn’t enough. The next slap comes down and Bill moans his hips snapping forward again. As though sensing what he is after Pennywise moves its legs closer together so that with every sting from its hand to Bill’s ass he jerks forward into glorious friction.

“You going to cum all over my thigh Billy?” The clown coos. “Make a mess all over the place?” Bill sobs and he can hear Pennywise hum. This is what it has been after.

“Hurts doesn’t it Bill?”

“Yes.” He chokes out from the lump in his throat. But it’s a good hurt. The most perfect kind of hurt. 

“Oh Billy.” A silk gloved hand massages his ass, he hisses at the light sting and breathes out shakily. “My beautiful boy.”

He’s moved now, lifted up and set stomach down across the floor. His shirt hitches up and his stomach is cold. His hands scrabble for some purchase on the concrete floor as soft hands massage his thighs.

Pennywise marvels at Bill’s body, it never before saw the appeal of a human form rather than the fact that the taste of flesh is immaculate. But Bill is different, sometimes in the quiet moments of it’s own solitude it will think that maybe it’s preference for Bill over anyone else comes from something other than carnal lust and control. That maybe it has some emotional attachment to the human.

It will never voice these uncertainties aloud.

But everything about his boy is beautiful. The curve of his throat, the slope of his back. His thighs are quivering now with anticipation. His thighs are wonders to Pennywse who wouldn’t mind spending more than a healthy amount of time tucked between them. It is there that he goes now. Hands massaging the pale trembling flesh light as a feather squeezing them lightly trailing down to the inside of Bill’s knees to spread his legs apart.

Bill gasps his cheek pressed against the cool ground. “Wha-”

“Shh Billy.” It crouches down looming over him. He feels a cold drool splatter against his lower back and he closes his eyes trying to breath through his nose. The noise of the water is echoing all around him and it’s all he can do to focus on the feeling of a warm wet tongue prodding at his hole.

His back arches and his mouth opens and he moans. His nails dig into the concrete and he doesn’t know if he’s trying to escape or merely reacting to something he cannot control. Pennywise pays his incoherent actions no heed and thrusts its tongue deeper into Bill, its hands grabbing at his ass pulling him apart to get better access. 

Bill’s knees dig into the ground below him; he can feel a silk collar at his feet and he rests both feet on the clown’s shoulders as his back arches. Sharp teeth scrape at his thighs and everything feels so wet and warm. 

“Ah, ah.” His short little breathy moans are a music to Pennywise’s ears. It’s eyes slip closed momentarily as it lets itself bask in this moment and of the wonderful sounds that Bill is making.

Bill writhes in place, he can’t take it, it’s too much. It’s all been too much, all day. The temptation and the teasing and the touching. 

“I’m close.” He whispers and he can feel claws digging into him. Tight enough to draw blood and he feels the pricks and he loves it and he wants more.

“Damnit.” He curses. 

There is an erratic pace now. Pennywise’s tongue thrusting in and out of him at a fast pace. His ankles lock around the clown’s neck pulling it closer as close as he can.

He cums and it is his low groan that causes Pennywise to pull away. Licking its lips and panting a little as well. It takes in the sight of Bill’s thighs and ass, thin rivlets of blood running between his inner thighs and his dick. Mixed together with his cum. 

Bill collapses in exhaustion gasping and muttering things Pennywise cannot understand. But that is okay, it’s a sense of pride knowing Bill can be reduced to such madness.

“I need-” He gulps. “I need to go home.” He gasps his hands bracing against the floor in order to right himself. 

A growl is in his ear and he can’t find it in him to snap back a response before he is lifted like a rag doll. Cradled in strong arms, feeble hands reaching up to touch and to feel. He’s rewarded with lips brushing against his own, it’s so filthy. He can taste himself on it’s tongue.

“You’re disgusting Billy.” It murmurs using the same insult Bill had used earlier and Bill is set on his feet. He staggers in place for a moment Pennywise helping him stand and keep his footing.

The hands around his waist are gentle as Pennywise lowers itself down to lap at the mess covering Bill’s thighs. Bill sniffs shaking slightly, his fingers absentmindedly twirling in the wiry red hair. Once Bill is clean and able to stand without help he redresses his lower half and offers Pennywise a smile.

His phone rings and it is like a siren in the middle of their silence. Pennywise tenses and looks away and one glance at the caller ID reveals it’s his mother. A phone call he cannot ignore. 

“Mom.”

“Bill hey i was just checking you said you’d be home by now where are you?”

He glances over at Pennywise. “Sorry i ran into someone in town and got a little sidetracked i’m on my way back.”

“Okay sweetie, I love you, be safe.”

“I love you too mom.”

There's the word Pennywise hates. 

Love. 

It means so many things to humans, it’s an important word to them, they use it for so many frivolous things however that it believes it has lost the meaning it once had. 

“Now i really have to go home.” Bill sounded apologetic. “Do you want to come with me?” And there is the underlying wish for closeness without sounding too desperate for it. No matter how much Billy tries to change he is still human and he has always been this way. Wanting embraces in the dark and whispered words where no one else can hear. It’s a small gift Pennywise is willing to give.

“Let’s take you home Billy.”


	7. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Richie and Eddie are attacked by bullies, Pennywise true to it's promise defends them.
> 
> But this raises suspicions that it isn't really asleep......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i've been MIA. I will finish this story updates will just be slow.
> 
> On a happier note i found the IT book at my local library and i'm reading it, i also have started practicing oragami!

Richie Tozier had probably liked Eddie Kasaprak since the day he met him. Sure, they were 12 years old but when you’re 12 every crush feels like true love. He’d seen Eddie who most would describe as sickly, scrawny, a wimp. But Richie didn’t see that. 

Eddie was funny, he was creative, and when he wasn’t being domineered by his dictator of a mother he acted like a regular kid. Especially since the summer they had defeated It. Eddie was braver, he knew the medicine his mom gave him was bullshit though he still kept his inhaler handy for emergencies. 

Sure, he was an outcast, but so were all the losers. And it’s not like Richie could make fun of Eddie. Richie had made his own infamous mark on the school as “Trashmouth” due to his inability to shut the fuck up. He couldn’t help it, when he was nervous, he prattled, he said stupid shit. Plus, his coke bottle glasses made him the target of nerd insults. 

But he’s 16 now, practically an adult. Sure, he hasn’t lost any of his charm, still wearing glasses, still has a big mouth, still gay.

But now he has Eddie, and that’s a little more special.

Now if only they could manage to catch a break.

“I’m gonna cut your dick off pansy ass!”

The threats are fading behind them but Richie knows it won’t be for long, the thugs will catch up and then him and Eddie will be scum on the sidewalk.

“Rich-“Eddie’s out of breath fumbling for his jacket pocket. He’d stopped wearing a fanny pack when he hit high school but old habits die hard and he was searching for his inhaler. 

“Just keep going.” Richie hasn’t let go of his arm since the existed the ice cream parlor. In high spirits having just finished a couple of chocolate malts. Richie knew better when he leaned in to give Eddie a peck on the cheek. Knew to wait till they were inside one of their houses, or in the woods or the clubhouse. Somewhere safe away from eyes that would judge, tease, maim. 

But he did, just an innocent little peck. He should have known that just because Henry Bowers had been shipped off to juvy again didn’t mean they were safe from the danger. Bill had told them when he was down in the sewers he’s been running from Bowers, Criss, Hockstetter, and Huggins. Which was impossible since Bowers was locked away and Criss was dead. 

He guessed that’s what Derry did to a person.

The pair ducked into an alley Richie nudging Eddie towards the chain link fence. “Climb it, then it’s a straight shot to my house.” He said the whole time looking over his shoulder to watch out for the goons. 

“I can’t I’ll cut myself, get tetanus.”

“No, you won’t, thought you weren’t scared of that shit anymore.”

“Not scared.”

But Richie knows he’s lying and he knows if Eddie is scared, he’s not helping. He’s scared too, he can hear the voices getting louder. 

“Where are you fruitcakes?”

“Trust me Eds just go okay? I’m right behind you.” 

“Richie please- “

Fear was not just an emotion. Emotions shouldn’t be able to control you the way fear does. It shouldn’t wholly encompass you, locking your body in place, rendering you unable to speak or move or breath. But it does.

It’s what Pennywise finds so delicious. And children’s fear is so much more potent than that of an adult. Adults have already learned there is not much to be afraid of. They have gone stupid and forgotten about monsters in closets and under beds. Boogeymen hiding in the dark just waiting to pounce.

But children know all too well that it is real. 

The sound of the screams is what alert it, the labored breathing and harried whispers of those not wanting to be found. It slithers along the sides of buildings keeping to the shadows, watching and observing. Not entirely unseen. A child may see its reflection in a store window or it’s balloons around a lamppost. But it is not hunting for young prey at the moment, it is far too early to be hungry. 

It finds the alley with ease; white gloves clinging to the gray chain link fence and spots the two teenage boys. The voices are familiar it’s Bill’s two queer friends. Richie and Eddie. 

“Come on Eds just go!” He’s trying to get the spluttering boy to hoist himself up onto a dumpster and climb a fence.

He refuses again and then the light at the end of the alley is cut off as the group of 4 boys appear. Not Henry Bowers and the gang, no Pennywise had awful fun with that lot for chasing Billy through the sewers. But no matter how many times bullies go down there are always others to take their place. 

They all look the same, act the same, even smell the same. Like BO and cheap weed. 

“Hey faggots.” The one whom Pennywise assumes to be in charge, sneers. He has the same energy that Henry Bowers did. “Thought we wouldn’t catch up with you huh?”  
Richie who hasn’t let go of Eddie’s arm looks on in horror. He has no idea what to do.

“Get. On. The. Fence.” He spits through his teeth at Eddie and he slowly releases him. 

“Don’t fucking move pixie stick.” The leader orders and Eddie whimpers his hands finally finding his inhaler. 

Pennywise licks its lips tasting the now fresh fear coming off both boys. There is a glint of a knife in one of the boy’s hands. Weapon of choice in Derry it seems. It can already tell what will happen next. 

The blood, the screaming, pain, fear, fear FEAR!

And Pennywise will sit here behind the fence and wait for the carnage to end, even though it is not hungry it can have a little snack.

“You fucking poofs think you can just waltz around this town like you fucking own it?” The teen in front sneered. “You think everyone else just has to watch while you suck each other’s queer faces off?” 

“Lay off man, we didn’t do anything. I bet you and your goons have gangbangs in these fucking alleys, don’t you?” Richie shoots off his voice thick. Yep, that’s him, Trashmouth Tozier.

Eddie seems more horrified than impressed at Richie’s outburst.

“The fuck did you say to us faggot?”

Richie gulps. “You worried that you guys won’t be the only group of homos in this town anymore?”

“Richie stop.” Eddie whispers.

Pennywise knows he will not.

The teen with the knife is seeing red you can be colorblind and still know that. Eyes sharp and cutting lips twisted into a murderous expression his fists balled and the knife glinting dangerously in the light. 

“You calling me a queer, fuckface?” He growls. Richie must see the error in his words now. He’s gasping like a fish out of water back hitting the fence the chainlink rattling. Pennywise leans in to sniff at his neck, it’s delicious. 

Richie turns to look over his shoulder for only a moment, he doesn’t see Pennywise of course but he feels that feeling. His heart cold and heavy with the dread the fear the hopelessness. They won’t make it over this fence, suddenly it seems 10 miles high. The group will reach them within seconds. And it’ll be bad, so bad. Worse than when the Bowers gang pushed Ben over the bridge, worse than anything Richie is imagining right now.

He wishes he could stop, just turn his thoughts off and be numb but the images are there nonetheless. Eddie dead on the ground with his throat cut, Richie choking on his own blood. 

Pennywise sits and it waits, the bloodbath will start, anger fuels violence and then when the gang has had their fun he’ll feast on the couple. 

A momentary thought flashes in its head. It is so fast, so fleeting, it almost forgets it ever saw it. It’s Billy finding out about his friends, knowing with all his heart who had killed them, who had wounded them. And he will be upset, and because Billy is a fighter at heart and because Billy knows he doesn’t have to be afraid he will go after them. Those same words it just thought moments ago now mock Pennywise. Anger fuels violence. And Billy doesn’t stand a chance. It can protect him; it always tries to have at least a faint idea of where Billy is most times. But what if that day it doesn’t? What if it can’t find him in time?

The gang of boys moves closer and in a feeble attempt to protect him, Richie puts an arm over Eddie. Their hearts are beating fast as hummingbirds, breath so ragged it wonders how they are even alive, bodies quivering. The knife glints.

It cannot let them die.

It moves oozing through the fence around the side of the fence slowly. It’s shadow drips along the floor encircling the boys.

“What the hell?” The tallest of the four squints into what used to be the alley but is now the hallway of a house. Despite Pennywise’s hunger and tiredness its powers are still strong enough for this. An illusion.

“Shit man!” The chubbier one stumbles backwards, smack into a wall. “There’s no fucking door!”

Eddie and Richie watch in morbid confusion as the boys begin to yell, banging at the sides of the air around them as though they are trapped in a mime’s box.

“Get us out of here!”

“Holy shit!”

“What the hell is that thing!?”

Pennywise creeps into their vision sliding along the wall. “Hello boys!” It giggles and they watch mouths agape holding on to one another without speaking. It waves the bouquet of balloons it’s holding one hand. “Would you like a balloon?”

“W-w-Who the fuck are you?” The leader finally asks the hand that is holding the knife is limp.

Pennywise chuckles. “Who am i? Why I’m Pennywise the dancing clown!” It licks its lips. “Do you want to call me a twink boys?” Its smile drops and the corner of its mouth turns up in a snarl. “Want to use that knife on me?”

“What’s happening?” Eddie whispers fearfully into Richie’s ear gripping his shoulder.

“I don’t know, it’s like they aren’t here anymore.” Richie answers.

The boys who had only seconds before been screaming and scrabbling at their surroundings now were staring straight up eyes glazed over not moving.

“They look like Bev did.” Richie murmured. “Remember in the sewer that summer?”

“Shut up Richie.” Eddie whispered back, his favored comeback and Richie closed his mouth. “It’s only been a few years; it couldn’t be back yet.”

“The offer of the balloon still stands.” It sneered inching it’s arm closer. The cluster of red balloons rubbed against one another quivering in an invisible breeze. “They float boys.” 

“Float?” The leader asks the knife falling from his hand as he reaches out to grab a balloon.

“Think about it Eddie. Remember when we went to the Wafflehouse with everyone? Bill found that little girls missing poster, even though it’s not possible she could already be reported missing.”

“I told you it was a prank.”

“Some prank huh, she’s really missing Eds how do you explain that?” 

“Oh yes they float.” Pennywise crooned. “They float boys. And if you come with me, you’ll float too!”

“We’ll float too.” The four boys spoke it at the exact time, there was a prolonged pause and then they started screaming hysterically batting at every inch of their bodies, falling down onto the ground and rolling in the filth their eyes rolling into the backs of their heads still screaming.

“GO!” Richie grabbed Eddie’s arm again and Eddie did not need to be told twice before he was clambering onto the dumpster and clawing his way up the fence. Richie was seconds behind him and he was screaming too, everyone was screaming and Eddie tumbled from the other side of the fence onto the ground below. He scraped his knee but stood up as Richie landed beside him. 

Grabbing his boyfriend’s arm, he hauled him to his feet still running and Richie was still screaming. They must have looked crazy screaming like lunatics running full sprint down the street but they didn’t care.

“Bill!” Eddie yelled. “We gotta tell Bill, tell everyone.” He was panting but didn’t reach for his inhaler. 

They weren’t running towards Richie’s house anymore, they cut across Jackson street still at full speed narrowly missing a delivery truck as they shoot down to Bill’s house. Their sneakers slapping loudly into the sidewalk as they cut through a neighbor’s yard. They see Bill’s father cutting grass in the front yard and hop over the curb.

“Hey Richie, Eddie where’s the fire?” Zach joked as they touched base on the lawn.

Eddie falls to his knees grabbing for his inhaler, as he fires it into his mouth Richie tries to catch his own breath and breathe. “Bill…..is…..he……home?”

Zach looks a bit concerned but only crooks a thumb over his shoulder. “Sure, he’s inside.”

Eddie staggers to his feet and they continue at a jog into Bill’s house, he’s seated on the sofa watching TV with Georgie.

He looks up as they enter. “Hey guys-“

“Bill….we…..we…..gotta…..tell you…….something.”

He releases Georgie’s foot and the kid hops up. “What happened?” He asks innocently.

Richie looks from Bill to Georgie. “Uh it’s kind of a private thing Bill.” He says.

Bill grabs Georgie’s shoulders. “Teenager talk okay George?” 

He nods. “Teenager talk.” And goes up to his room.

“What the hell is with you guys? You get chased by a bear or something?” He chokes but there is no humor in either of their eyes. 

“Ice cream…..alley……bullies……knife……screaming…..ran.” Eddie pants taking several puffs on his inhaler.

“Breathe Eddie I can’t understand you.” He puts a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder now understanding that the situation may be more severe than he thought.

Richie takes over. “We came out of the ice cream parlor, got chased by Louis and his gang you know typical weekend, they chase us into an alley I think we’re goners and then boom, they start screaming.”

“They were frozen in place Bill. Like they were in some kind of invisible box and then they I don’t know had this weird look in their eyes.”

“Think Beverly in the deadlights kind of look!” Richie interjected. “Then they started like screaming and hitting themselves.”

Bill thinks about his next words very carefully, he can’t just tell them it’s nothing. They might get suspicious, besides they’re too hysterical to forget this anytime soon. But he also can’t lead a clown hunt, he has to convince Pennywise to go back to sleep. And he needs time to do that.

The clown kept its promise so he will keep his.

“Okay guys let’s think about this, it’s too early for it to wake up isn’t it?”

“What if it’s messing with us?” Richie asks fearfully. “What if it didn’t really go back to sleep and now it’s like playing tricks on our brains?”

“Maybe.” Bill pretends to look thoughtful. “What happened that summer was awful; we can’t let it happen again. So, we can’t ignore this.”

“We should tell the others, go down in the sewers and make sure we really put it to sleep.” Eddie says with renewed vigor. 

Bill gulps, he can’t let them do that. At least not until he explains to Pennywise why it needs to go to sleep again.

“I agree with Eddie.” Richie looks at Bill. “I ain’t going through that shit again.”

Bill nods. “Without a doubt we need to go check things out just to be safe. How about tomorrow?”

“How about now?” Richie stands up. “No sense waiting!”

“We need everyone dipstick.” Eddie retorts. “And we need a plan.”

“I’ll stay here and formulate a plan; you guys get on the walkie talkies and tell everyone the game plan and then get back to me okay?”

“Sure, thing Big Bill.” Eddie nods. 

“I fucking hate this town.” Richie mumbled under his breath. That seemed to be the mantra of his life.

“Yeah, well couple more years and we’re home free.” Eddie reminded him as they made their leave. “Come on I’ll call Stan for you.”

“Thank GOD!”

Those were the last words before the front door closed. Bill made his way solemnly up the stairs. This whole thing was his fault and now he had to fix it. He just hoped that from now till tomorrow would give him enough time to convince the clown to go back to sleep.

He looked out the window, it was about midday so the daylight wasn’t fading yet he had enough time to head down to the Barrens and have a conversation. He donned his sneakers and a small bag of supplies before trooping down the stairs.

“Going out?” His father asked him when he exited.

Bill nodded. “Richie and Eddie said Bev left a bunch of stuff at the Barrens and asked me to take it to her.”

“Kids got a little clubhouse down there?” He asks.

Bill nods. “Just some comics and old radios mostly but they have to go home early so they asked me to bring her, her bag.”

His dad nods. “Don’t be out too late.”

“I won’t.” He promises and is on his way.

Pennywise doesn’t often ponder important things. It thinks about its hunger when it is hungry, how to frighten particular children, when it needs to go back to sleep. It’s only second nature to think about those things, it’s thought about them for hundreds of years, as long as it has been alive these are the only thoughts that cross it’s mind.

Until a summer a few years ago when he met a particular Bill Denbourgh. It can pinpoint the exact moment it became obsessed with making the boy believe. Because many children do believe, in fact all the children believe and that strengthens its power. When a frightened child tells another child about the horrors he had just witnessed and that fuels the other child’s fear.

But when little Georgie had told big brother Bill all about the clown in the sewers, he had blown it off as a trick of the pounding rain. A little kid’s imagination. He wasn’t scared at all. 

And Pennywise intended for him to be. So, he followed the boy he learned things about him so to truly terrify him. To make him regret what he had done, to make him believe and then to have a feast on that fear. It ended up learning something different, that some humans liked pain. And that was something Bill liked. While other children shied away from those things preferring softness and tenderness to envelope their every waking moment. Not Bill, Bill was different. Bill understood things people did not, had seen things other people had not and come out stronger. 

There was something about Billy, he had to have a screw loose somewhere. Jewish Stanley couldn’t handle all the blood. Eddie and his ever-constant asthma couldn’t look at a dead body without throwing up. Even little Beverly Marsh who hadn’t been afraid of it would find a way to defeat it desperate to save the children of Derry. 

Bill hurt deep inside from the deaths. He cried over them, mourned them. And sometimes he got angry over them, Pennywise was quick to adjust his attitude but Bill kept crawling back every time. Full of apologies and wishes for forgiveness. And that was where Bill was different. He knew that death happened that it needed to happen for a reason. Everything did Bill reasoned and he tried to see it that way when it happened.

But he still thought it wasn’t right, and a part of him was still stuck in that summer where they had met when he had been a hero, when he and the rest of the Losers had defeated it and saved the children of Derry. Billy boy sure kept things interesting.

It contemplated going back to sleep. It had woken up purely by accident. It wasn’t hungry yet, it had only killed Bernice to mess with Bill with his mind. It had worked. Also, its powers were weak from lack of sleep. It was much too early to be out and about. Billy was the only one keeping it awake. But it would miss him and he would miss it. And Bill would not live forever. In 27 years, he would be 42 and then after that 69 and after that who’s to say he wouldn’t be dead? 

And Pennywise would be alone again. With the death the blood and no one to understand, to listen, to be there, to dote over and fuck and-

No, it wouldn’t say the word. It couldn’t.

It decided to make its way back to the sewers, it’s sanctuary apart from the Neibolt house that no one dared enter except for those homeless individuals or stupid teenagers trying to scare one another. 

Here was its power more potent. And it was here that it sensed a familiar presence.

Billy.

It moved more quickly inkling along the walls and the ceiling only making itself visible as it entered the room and took in the look of him.

Not debauched or needy there was real purpose in his eyes. Fine Pennywise would entertain him this, a conversation. A straight talk as Bill liked to call them when he wanted to talk about something, he felt was important.

“Billy, what a nice surprise.” It weedled as it approached him. There was no gentleness in Bill’s eyes, no warmth only……fear?

And for once it was not the cause. But Bill had nothing more to be afraid of. And that is why Pennywise knew maybe something truly important was happening.

“We need to talk.” Bill said grimly.


End file.
